Dominic Monaghan

By Ryan

When you think of Dominic Monaghan, you probably say “Oh yeah, he’s that guy from Lord of the Rings,” or “Oh yeah, he’s that guy from Lost,”. I’m going to tell you a bit more about him. We’ll go through some of his early life, then learn about  some career stuff he did, find out some things he does when he isn’t working, and finally end with some facts about an amazing person.

Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan was born on December 8th, 1976, in Western Berlin, Germany to Maureen and Austin Monaghan. Dominic’s family was constantly moving to different German cities about every four years. When Dominic was about eleven, his family moved to Stockport, England where he went to St. Anne’s Roman Catholic High School and Aquinas College. 

Now Dominic’s career is next. Dominic got his start at Hetty Wainthropp Investigates as Hetty’s sidekick Geoffrey Shawcross. He was also in Hostile Waters as Sasha in 1997. Next, he was in The Lord of the Rings trilogy as Meriadoc Brandybuck, or Merry. Dominic also narrated Ringers: Lord of the Fans and played Charlie Pace in Lost. In 2009, he played Chris Bradley in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. In 2010 he was in the music video for Eminem’s Love the Way you Lie. He also has his own show titled Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan. In 2025, he co-starred in Billy and Dom Eat the World with fellow LOTR castmate Billy Boyd.

If you are wondering what Dominic does in his free time, then this is the paragraph for you. Dominic likes to be outside or play League of Legends with Billy. He has a leaf-mantis named Gizmo, a black widow named Witchitar, and an albino snake named Blink. He also likes to host parties at his house with his cast members. On his right arm, he has the word “nine” written in the language of Tengwar, an artificial language in The Lord of the Rings. He also has “Life imitates art”, an Oscar Wilde quote.

Next, let’s look at some random facts about Dominic. He was married to Evangeline Lilly for three years, before getting divorced. During production of The Lord of the Rings, he auditioned for Frodo, but Elijah Wood got the part and he played Merry instead. Did you know that Dominic had acrophobia (fear of heights)? He got rid of it by going bungee jumping with Orlando Bloom while filming. While he was filming Wild things with Dominic Monaghan, he found a spider in Laos. His guide, Dr. Peter Jäger, decided to name the spider Ctenus Monaghani, after Dominic. Dominic bought a mango forest in India to help protect the environment. He also speaks fluent German.

We’ve finally come to the end of this, so I hope you learned a lot about Dominic Monaghan. I enjoyed taking you through his early life, film career, some of his hobbies, and some facts I found entertaining. When I was researching him, I had a lot of fun and learned things that I would never have thought about. Anyway, thanks for reading and have fun! 

Sources:

• Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_Monaghan

• IMDb https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0597480/bio/

• Billy and Dom Eat the World

 

Chloe Humphrey

By: Finley

Chloe Humphrey was born on March 5, 2005, in Darien, Connecticut. She has two older sisters [that also play lacrosse] Ashley and Nicole, and a younger brother, Brett. 

Chloe's parents are Sarah and John Humphrey. Sarah played collage lacrosse at Dartmouth and john played basketball at Middlebury college. 

Chloe started out playing soccer and then followed her sister in lacrosse in fifth grade. She was ranked number one recruit in 2023.  

She [and her team] won two state championships at Darien high school where she was named all American two times and the U.S.A. high school player of the year as a senior.  

Fun fact, Chloe has had the same stick since she started.

 

Sources: 

Wikipedia 

Usa Lacrosse  

University of North Carolina athletics 

Amelia Earhart

Queen of the Air 

By: Emerson 

Today I will tell you about Amelia Earhart and her life. Amelia Mary Earhart was born on July 24, 1897, in Atchison, Kansas. She was very close to her sister, Muriel.  They moved a lot during her childhood, but she still managed to graduate from high school in 1916.  Amelia became a nurse and worked for the American Red Cross. She married her love George Putman in 1931. When she was a kid, she was a tomboy and loved playing outside with her sister.  When she was 10, her family went to the state fair where she saw her first plane. However, she wasn’t very impressed. Then when Amelia was 23, she went to an air show with her dad. Amelia got to take a ride on an airplane and fell in love with it!  That’s when she knew she wanted to fly.  In 1921, when she started taking flying lessons with Neta Snook and began saving money to buy her first airplane in 1922!  It was known that Amelia liked to enjoy hot cocoa and oranges on her flights. 

Amelia quickly set a record for the highest flight at 14,000 feet in 1922.  In 1930, she flew the fastest at 181 mph, setting another record.  Later, Amelia was the first female pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean in 1932.  Pretty soon, she would set her biggest goal yet. 

Not many women in the 1930’s had careers.  Amelia did, so she was becoming famous.  She wrote books about flying, gave speeches across the country, and was even invited to the White House!  She became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt. One night in 1933, they famously snuck out of a White House dinner and went for a joy ride in Amelia’s airplane to Baltimore and back while still dressed in their evening gowns! Apparently, after their escapade, Eleanor Roosevelt said she wanted to be a pilot, too. Amelia received a lot of medals and spoke at colleges, inspiring women all over the world. Everybody wanted to be like her. The media called her Queen of the Air. She was an American hero. 

Purdue University gave her money in 1936 to buy a Lockheed Electra 10E airplane. Amelia had always dreamed of flying around the world, so she made preparations to be the first woman to circumnavigate the globe.  Amelia and her navigator Fred Noonan began their journey by flying over various deserts and mountains, stopping for gas and repairs along the way. On July 2,1937, after a month of flying, they took off on the last portion of their trip, attempting to cross the Pacific Ocean. During the flight, officials lost radio contact with her plane. Unfortunately, Amelia and Fred Noonan were never seen again.  

When people realized they went missing, there was an extensive search. Amelia and Fred were supposed to land on Howland Island, but experts believe they may have crashed landed on Nikumaroro Island (aka: Gardner Island) about 350-400 miles of course.  The whole world wondered what went wrong.  It is believed her radio communication failed because she didn’t have a trailing wire antenna and was using the wrong frequencies to transmit to the Coast Guard.  Neither of them were trained in morse code, and she didn’t fully understand how to operate the radio direction finder.  In 1940, a British colonial officer found shoes and human bones on Nikumaroro Island. They were analyzed and thought to belong to a short male.  In 1991, researchers returned to the island and found a Cat’s Paw brand replacement heel that matched the type of shoe Amelia was known to wear. They also found a metal panel that matches the replacement navigation window patched onto her airplane just before her last flight. The rivet pattern matches photographs of her plane, and modern imaging techniques have revealed serial numbers on the metal as well.  In 2018, experts analyzed the data again and determined the bones actually matched Amelia Earhart’s proportions more closely than 99% of people, and one of the shoes closely matched women’s shoes from the 1930s that Amelia was known to wear.  Recently on Nikumaroro Island, researchers found fragments of a jar of freckle cream from the 1930s like Amelia used, parts of a bone-handled jack knife like Amelia owned, and evidence of someone eating turtles. It appears that she survived the crash and lived on the island for a while, waiting for a rescue that never came and eventually succumbing to the harsh, secluded island. 

 Even after her death, her fame has lived on.  She was pictured on her own postage stamp in 1963.  One of her planes is in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  For decades, her death has been shrouded in mystery.  However, in recent years, there has been enough evidence found that the mystery is likely solved at this point, but we may never know for sure.  Regardless, she will always live on as an American hero and an inspiration to many! 

 Sources: 

Ameliaearhart.com 

Amelia Earhart Adventures in the Sky by: Francene Sabin and Anel Joanne Mattern 

National Geographic Kids: Amelia Earhart by: Caroline Crosson Gilpin 

The Extraordinary Life of Amelia Earhart by: Dr.Sheila Kanani and Rachel Cocran 

Kamala Harris

Better than Trump

By Ada

Hello! This essay is about Kamala Harris and how she came so close to becoming the first woman to be president of the United States. Today I will be telling you about her political career, childhood, her accomplishments, and her hobbies and favorites. I hope you enjoy my presentation.

First, I will talk about her political career. In 2003 she was elected as the district attorney of the city and county of San Francisco, in 2016 Kamala was elected as senator for California. In July 2024 President Joe Biden announced that Kamala Harris would be his vice president.2019 she became vice president to Biden. On the sad, sad day of November 5, 2024, Trump beat Kamala Harris in the presidential election.

Now let's learn about Kamala Harris’s childhood. Kamala was born October 20, 1964, in Oakland California. She was the daughter of immigrants; her dad is Jamaican and her mother is Indian. When she was 12 years old she and her family moved to Montreal, Canada.

Now I will talk about Kamala Harris’s accomplishments. Kamala Harris was the first African American and the first woman to serve as attorney general, first African American woman to be vice president, and the first woman to be vice president. She was the first graduate of an HBCU to be sworn as the vice president of the U.S.A.

Lastly, I will tell you about Kamala Harris’s favorite things. Kamala’s favorite food is gumbo, and her favorite color is pink. Her favorite curse word is something I probably shouldn't talk about here. Kamala’s favorite drink is California white wine, and her favorite sport is Formula 1 racing. Her last favorite thing is her hobby, which is cooking.

Thank you for reading my essay. I had a really good time learning about Kamala Harris, and I think she is really interesting, and I hope you did to. If you are a Republican and resent Kamala, then you can suck it up.


sources:
National women's history museum

Hedy Lamarr

By Charlotte

Hedy Lamarr had a double life. The public knew her as a glamorous movie star; she was known worldwide. But in her private life she was a brilliant inventor, only her closest friends knew. Today you will learn about Hedy’s childhood, acting career, inventions, and final her World War 2 efforts. Let's dive in.

First, will we learn about her childhood. Hedy Lamarr was born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler on November 9, 1914. She was a daughter of a Jewish family and had a calm childhood. Hedy Lamarr has aways been very curious like Trying to impro things. Hedy’s Farther shared his love of science with her on their walks at the park in Vienna, Austria and so did Hedy. Young Hedy was crazy for motion pictures, whenever possible she’d sneak off to a movie theater when returning home, Hedy reenacted her favorite scenes, playing all the parts herself. Always dreaming, Hedy wanted to escape into the movie. By the time Hedy was a teenager, she decided to drop out of school and seek fame as an actress. She was a student of the theater director. Her first role was a bit part in 1930 “Money on the street.”

Let's head on over to Hollywood! Hedy’s first job was as a script girl at a movie station in Vienna, when the opportunity came up to be an extra in a movie. She won a minor role in a restaurant scene, this bit part, giving Hedy her first steps. Hedy Lamarr 5th film in German set her on fire! The film was called "Ecstasy". The notoriety of the film brought Hedy to HOLLYWOOD!!!!!!!! Some of Hedy's most famous films are Samson and Delilah, “Boom Town”, “Tortilla Flat”, “White Cargo”, “Ziegfeld Girl”, and “Ecstasy”, but her biggest box-office success was “Algiers”. Hedy also had a lot of jobs including acting, producer, additional crew, soundtrack, and archive footage. She is mainly known for being an incredibly famous actress. Hedy Lamarr also had some amazing nicknames from Hollywood - “Hollywood's loveliest legendary Queen of Glamour.” She was 5’7.

Next let's see what Hedy Lamarr invented The Hollywood movie star had a passion for science and engineering, “her brain overflowed with idea after idea for useful inventions.” Hedy Lamarr invented many useful inventions such as a new traffic signal, yellow light, glow in the dark dog collar, and many more. Hedy’s greatest invention is the frequency hopping spread spectrum. This is a breakthrough for scientists; it helps keep things private on our cell phones and defends computers from hackers. Hedy did not get much recognition for her amazing invention. In 1997 she and George Anthiel were honored with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and later that same year, Lamarr became the first female recipient of the BUBIE spirit of Achievement Award. Hedy Lamarr shattered stereotypes and earned a place among the 20th century’s most important women inventors.

Now let's learn what Hedy Lamarr did in World War 2. Hedy Lamarr helped a lot in World War 2, let's go see what she did. Hedy Lamarr's movies helped people escape the talk of war, if only for a few hours. Lamarr wanted to help with the war, so she worked really hard and came up with the Hopping system with Goege. Then they sent the patent application to the government they waited and waited, then more than a year later they received the patent they immediately handed it to the United States Navy unfortunately, the Navy had neither the time nor money. They refused to develop the invention, then they classified the technology secret!!! This prevents anyone including the inventors, from using it.

So, Hedy looked for another way to help her adopted country defeat the evil Nazis. She realized she could use her popularity to help win. She traveled across the country and held sale rallies. She sold 25 million dollars' worth of war bonds. Hedy also volunteered at the Hollywood canteens, a club for American servicemen soon to be sent into battle. To lift spirits, she would chat and dance with them. She was happy to have helped the soldiers and sailors.

Hedy Lamarr is a really cool lady and accomplished so many things. I loved researching her. I learned so many amazing things. She is a real role model; I admire her. I hope you enjoyed learning about Hedy Lamarr.


Bibliography:
Hedy Lamarr’s Double Life by Laurie Wallmark
IMDB

Katharine Hepburn

By Evie

Katharine Hepburn was a famous actress. You might have seen some of her movies, but would you like to know who she is, exactly? Maybe where she came from? If she had any siblings? Her most famous movie? Is there more to her story than “that really good actress”?

Katharine Hepburn was a 1940’s actress. She won eight Academy Awards, and four Oscars! So now that you have a bit of background knowledge, let’s move onto her classic style.

Katharine Hepburn often wore wide-legged trousers, polos, and sometimes heels. She absolutely despised dresses and skirts. She preferred comfort over style. Once, she was getting interviewed by Barbara Walters, who asked, “Do you ever wear a skirt, by the way?” and Katharine Hepburn replied, “I have one. I’ll wear it to your funeral.”, with an astounded reaction from Barbara.

Now we’ll learn about her life and death. She was born on May 12th, 1907. She grew up in Connecticut and spent a good portion of her life there. One of her quotes was, “I... looked as if, and I was, hard to get... never had any intention of getting married, wanted to paddle my own canoe.” She died in 2003, at age 96.

Let’s learn a bit about her family now. She was the second of six children, becoming first when her older brother died of an apparent suicide at age 15. No one knew why. After that, Katharine used his birthday, November 8, instead of her own, May 12, for many years. She was close to her family her whole life.

I really hope that you learned something from me. I think that Katharine Hepburn was an amazing and impressive person! Her outfit, when she refused to be ‘ladylike’, her stubbornness to do and wear what she liked, and her attitude. She was truly a fantastic person.


sources:
conneticuthistory.org People Who Shaped the Century Wikipedia
Parisiangentleman.com vintagefashionguild.org

Marie Curie

Toxic discoveries

by Eleanor

Hello today I will be telling you the story of Marie Curie. This story starts with life on November 7th, 1867, with a child named Marie Curie. First, I will talk about her discoveries. Second, I will talk about her life, and last, I will talk about her education.

Marie Curie discovered two new elements, which she named radium and plutonium, and she won two Nobel Prizes for her discoveries. Let’s move on to her life.

She married Pierre Curie, and she had two daughters, Irene and Eve. Her favorite color was deep blue, and her favorite food was bread and butter. She died July 4th, 1934, due to radiation poisoning. Her husband died in 1904 at the age of 46, due to his bones weakening because of radiation, and also caused because of a street accident in Paris. Let’s move on to her education.

Marie got into Sorbonne, and despite the fact that she was far behind, she caught up and graduated top in her class!

I thought she was really cool because she was one of the first female scientists who graduated from college, plus she discovered two new elements, and won a Nobel Prize for each of them! I definitely think you should learn more about her!


Here are my sources!
1. history.aip.org
2. Reddit
3. Wikipedia